Prison Officers' Pay and Conditions

Lord Williams of Elvel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they plan to publish the report of the Prison Service Pay Review Body on prison officers' pay and conditions.

Lord Rooker: The report of the Prison Service Pay Review Body (PSPRB) on the pay of governing governors and operational managers, prison officers and related grades in England and Wales in 2002 has been published today and copies have been placed in the Library.
	The PSPRB has recommended a basic rise of 6 per cent over a 15-month period. This is a significant award which I have decided will be implemented in full. The locality allowances to Prison Service staff in eligible areas in London and the south east will be increased immediately by the full amount recommended, with effect from 1 January 2002. The general award will be paid in two steps, 3.5 per cent backdated to 1 January; the remainder in January 2003.
	The key recommendations are set out as follows:
	Headline increase:
	A 6 per cent increase to basic pay rates over the 15-month period covered by the report.
	Locality payments:
	Rates of local pay allowance paid to staff in London and parts of the south east will be increased with effect from 1 January:
	By £500 to £3,500 per annum for the top rate.
	By £400 to £2,300 per annum for the middle rate.
	By £200 to £1,000 per annum for the lower rate.
	Current arrangements for the performance pay of operational managers will remain unchanged. Various special allowances will be raised in line with the basic award.

Life Expectancy Rates

Baroness Howe of Idlicote: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What are the current comparative life expectancy rates for men and women once they have reached the age of:
	(a) 60; (b) 65; (c) 70; (d) 75; and (e) 80.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The latest information on life expectancy is based on mortality rates experienced in the years 1998 to 2000. The requested information is as follows:
	
		Expectation of life at given ages, United Kingdom, 1998–2000 -- Years
		
			 Age Males Females 
			 60 19.2 22.8 
			 65 15.4 18.7 
			 70 12.1 14.9 
			 75 9.2 11.5 
			 80 6.9 8.6 
		
	
	Source:
	Government Actuary's Department, Interim Life Tables 1998–2000.

Annuities Purchased by Occupational Pension Schemes

Lord Varley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their estimate of the tax revenue the Exchequer will forego in the current financial year as a result of the Inland Revenue imposing limits on the payments of annuities which were purchased in previous years by the trustees of some occupational pension schemes for the benefit on retirement of individual pension scheme members, and in particular where the annuity contracts stipulated that there would be an annual uprating of 5 per cent paid to the annuitant.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government do not hold information about annuities purchased by occupational pension schemes. So it is not possible to provide the estimate requested.

Prisoner of War Status

Earl Attlee: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, if the Geneva Conventions are interpreted so as to restrict the rights of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants to prisoner of war status, members of Her Majesty's Armed Forces would risk being denied their prisoner of war status if they were captured.

Lord Bach: Members of the UK Armed Forces engaged in international armed conflict who are captured by an enemy would be prisoners of war under the terms of the 3rd Geneva Convention 1949 and we would expect them to be treated accordingly. The question of whether or not a person is entitled to prisoner of war status depends on the application of the criteria in Article 4 of that convention to the particular facts and circumstances in the individual case.

Explosive Remnants of War

Lord Judd: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their evaluation of the outcome of the Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) (or Inhumane Weapons) Convention Second Review Conference in Geneva; what implications this conference has for future British policy towards explosive remnants of war and other matters; and what action they will be taking in response to the conference.

Lord Bach: The Review Conference of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) was successful in establishing a way ahead for discussions on a number of important and complex issues. By agreeing mandates for a group of governmental experts (GGE) to discuss ways and means to address the issue of explosive remnants of war and to explore the issue of anti-vehicle mines, the CCW has the opportunity to address humanitarian and military considerations in detail. We hope that the work of the GGE will allow the meeting of states parties to the CCW in December 2002 to agree to pursue formal negotiations on these matters.
	Our policy towards explosive remnants of war will continue to seek to minimise the post-conflict risk to civilians at the same time as maintaining essential capability for our forces. To this end, we will play an active and positive role in the discussions of the GGE and any subsequent negotiations.

Wrongly Taxed Army Pensioners

Lord Patel of Blackburn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the latest estimate of the total cost of refunding tax to those retired Army personnel or their widows and widowers who are or were in receipt of a service invalid pension.

Lord Bach: In his statement in another place on 23 January 2002 (Official Report, col. 891–902) my honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State estimated the total cost of refunding wrongly taxed Army pensioners at around £30 million. The latest Inland Revenue estimate is that, to date, it has refunded in the order of £6.5 million to eligible pensioners or their spouses. We believe that the majority of these pensioners or their spouses have already been identified but we recognise that there may be some beneficiaries eligible to claim where the pensioner is deceased. It is not easy to establish their number or the cost attached to such claims. Nonetheless, we would not expect the total to exceed £30 million and based on the repayments that have been made to all of the cases that have been identified it is likely to be significantly less. Of those so far identified as having wrongly paid tax, only 14 have not yet had refunds.

European Union: Forthcoming Council Business

Lord Christopher: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What the forthcoming business is in the Council of the European Union for February; and what are the major European Union events for the period between 31 January and July 2002.

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: See attached. February 12—ECOFIN Meeting—Brussels
	1. Adoption of Agenda
	2. Approval of list of "A" items
	3. Preparation for the European Council in Barcelona
	Commission report on the functioning of product and capital markets (Cardiff report)
	(Poss.) Report on increasing employment levels and prolonging working life
	Broad Economic Policy Guidelines
	Policy debate (on basis of, amongst other things, the Commission's summary report and contributions from other Councils)
	4. Stability and growth pact
	Examination of updated stability and convergence programmes
	5. (Poss.) Update on the euro changeover
	6. Commission report on globalisation: challenges and responses
	7. Indirect taxation
	VAT: Electronic commerce
	8. Progress report on the procedures for the ratification of the Council Decision of 29 September 2000 on the system of own resources (OJ L 253, 7.10.2000, p42)
	9. Other business
	The following are the principal events in the EU between 1 March and July 2002 (certain relevant events are also included: the list is based on the information available at the date of issue).
	
		
			 Date Location Event 
			 March 
			 1 Brussels Justice and Home Affairs Council  (Evening) 
			 1 Brussels Internal Market, Consumers and  Tourism Council 
			 4 Brussels Eurogroup (Evening) 
			 4 Brussels Environment Council 
			 5 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 7 Brussels Employment and Social Affairs  Council 
			 11 Brussels Research Council 
			 11–12 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			 15–16 Barcelona European Council 
			 18 Toledo Trade Ministers Meeting  (Ministerial Informal) 
			 18 Toledo EUROMED Trade Ministers  Meeting 
			 18–19 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 23–24 Brussels Defence Ministers Meeting  (Ministerial Informal) 
			 25–26 Brussels Transport and Telecom Council 
			 27–28 Monterrey,  Mexico Financing and Development  Conference 
			 April 
			 5–6 Luxembourg Migrations Council (ASEM  Ministerial Informal) 
			 8 Luxembourg Fisheries Council 
			 13–14 Luxembourg ECOFIN (Ministerial Informal) 
			 15–16 Luxembourg General Affairs Council 
			 22–23 Valencia Euromed Conference 
			 22–23 Luxembourg Agriculture Council 
			 May 
			 25–26 Luxembourg Justice and Home Affairs Council 
			 27–30 Luxembourg Agriculture Council (Ministerial  Informal) 
			 3–4 Brussels Tourism Council (Ministerial  Informal) 
			 6 Brussels Eurogroup (Evening) 
			 7 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 9  Europe Day 
			 13 Brussels General Affairs Council and  Defence Ministers meeting 
			 17–18 Madrid EU-Latin America and Caribbean  Summit 
			 21 Brussels Internal Market, Consumers and  Tourism Council 
			 23 Brussels Culture and Audio-visual Council 
			 24–26 Brussels Environment Council (Ministerial  Informal) 
			 27–28 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 30 Brussels Development Council 
			 30 Brussels Education and Youth Council 
			 31–1 June Brussels Transport Council (Ministerial  Informal) 
			 June 
			 3 Brussels Employment and Social Affairs  Council 
			 3 Brussels Eurogroup (Evening) 
			 4 Luxembourg ECOFIN 
			 6–8 Brussels Foreign Affairs Council (ASEM  Ministers) 
			 6–7 Brussels Industry and Energy Council 
			 10–11 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			 10–11 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 11 Brussels Fisheries Council 
			 13–14 Brussels Justice and Home Affairs Council 
			 17–18 Brussels Transport and Telecoms Council 
			 17–18 Brussels General Affairs Council 
			 21–22 Seville European Council 
			 24 Brussels General Affairs Council (Possible) 
			 24–25 Brussels Environment Council 
			 25 Luxembourg ECOFIN 
			 26 Brussels Health Council 
			 July 
			 6 Copenhagen ASEM Ministers for Finance 
			 12 Brussels ECOFIN 
			 12–13 Kolding Meeting of Employment and  Social Policy Ministers (Informal) 
			 15–16 Brussels Agriculture Council 
			 19 Brussels Budget Meeting 
			 19–21 Arhus Environment Ministers meeting  (Informal) 
			 22–23 Brussels General Affairs Council 
		
	
	Other Business
	6–7—Valladolid—Ministerial Seminar on Democracy and Development
	9–10—Brussels—Gymnich (Ministerial Informal)
	11—Brussels—Eurogroup (Evening)
	14—Brussels—Education and Youth Council
	14–15—Brussels—Justice and Home Affairs Council (Ministerial Informal)
	18–19—Brussels—General Affairs Council
	18–19—Brussels—Agriculture Council
	22–23—Brussels—Telecoms and Information Society Council (Ministerial Informal)
	28—Brussels—Justice and Home Affairs Council
	28—Brussels—Inaugural meeting of the Convention on the Future of Europe.

Employment Tribunals: Special Advisers

Lord Wedderburn of Charlton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether persons with experience in business or industry as employers or persons with experience in the trade union movement have been appointed as special advisers or expert or section advisers in the Department of Trade and Industry on employment tribunals; and, if so, what are their identities, their experience in the work of employment tribunals or other similar bodies, and the date and term of their appointments.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: There have been no appointments made in the department of advisers of this description to work on employment tribunals.

Higher Education Sector Staff: Racial Equality

Lord Ouseley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will publish any relevant available information they have, with findings from any conducted surveys, concerning racial discrimination in the higher education sector, particularly with regard to the number of minority ethnic academics occupying posts in the three top ranking positions in British universities.

Baroness Ashton of Upholland: Data on the ethnicity of academic staff in higher education are collected by the Higher Education Statistics Agency. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 puts a new duty on each university and college to prepare and maintain a written statement of its race equality policy and assess the impact of its policy on students and staff of different racial groups. They must monitor, by reference to those racial groups, the admission and progression of students and the recruitment and career progress of staff, including senior staff, and publish the findings. The higher education funding councils have the statutory responsibility to monitor the ethnicity of all staff in their sectors and publish the results of their monitoring. The Equality Challenge Unit set up by the higher education funding councils and representative bodies will support higher education institutions and funding councils in carrying out their respective duties.

Refrigerators: Disposal

Lord Bowness: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they anticipate that specialist plans will be available to local authorities to deal with the CFC-containing foam in the insulation of waste refrigerators and freezers.

Lord Whitty: Guidance for dealing with fridges was issued to local authorities in December. Waste fridges may be exported for treatment in other member states, disposed of via high temperature incineration or stored pending treatment in the UK. Next month officials will meet with representatives of local authorities and companies offering disposal services for fridges to raise awareness of the disposal routes available.
	We anticipate that a specialist plant for dealing with CFC-containing foam in fridges will be operational in the UK by spring.

Refrigerators: Disposal

Lord Bowness: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is their estimate of the cost of disposing of waste refrigerators and freezers between now and 2004, when the manufacturers assume their legal liability to meet the cost of disposal.

Lord Whitty: I understand that the current charges levied by waste management companies for the transport, handling, storage and processing of fridges are in the range of £22 to £35 per unit. However, these costs are likely to fall once more plants are operational and the market more competitive.

Refrigerators: Disposal

Lord Bowness: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How much they have allocated to local authorities to store waste refrigerators and freezers until they have the means to dispose of them; and whether they will make any additional payments.

Lord Whitty: £6 million has been added to the provisional local government finance settlement for 2002–03 to cover the costs of implementing the ozone depleting substances regulation relating to the period 1 January 2002 to 31 March 2002. We are continuing to assess the impacts of the regulation and will determine what further action is required beyond that.

Countryside Stewardship Agreements

Earl Peel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 17 December (WA 18–19), whether they are aware of the Strutt and Parker report which suggests that the financial remuneration offered to farmers entering either the Arable Green Margin Scheme or the Arable Reversion Scheme fails to meet the costs incurred.

Lord Whitty: The noble Earl has sent me a report by Strutt and Parker that relates to three individual Countryside Stewardship agreements. The payment rates that we set within the scheme for annual management options, including field margins and arable reversion, are designed to reflect the average income foregone for these items on a national basis. As every farm is different, it is inevitable that the rates for any given option will be more attractive to some individuals than others, but of course applicants can choose whether or not to enter land into that particular option. I am pleased to say that demand for the scheme, including field margins and arable reversion, continues to be high.

Ardoyne Street Protests

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will publish all correspondence to and from the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission concerning street protests in the Ardoyne area of north Belfast during 2001.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: It is not the Government's policy to publish private correspondence between Ministers and private individuals or organisations. Requests for information on this issue should be addressed in the first instance to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission.

Mutual Respect Between Children of Different Faiths

The Earl of Listowel: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the value of the investment they are making in cultural, sporting and other activities undertaken with a view to fostering mutual respect between children of different faiths; and what evidence there is for the efficacy of such investment.

Baroness Blackstone: The Government are committed to promoting greater cultural diversity and racial equality through the arts, culture and sporting life and in so doing encouraging greater harmony in society. Many of DCMS's non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are taking work forward in this territory, though the specific value of time and resources invested has not been quantified.
	For example, English Heritage works with teachers and children drawn from all social and religious backgrounds. Sport England's programmes include assistance in the distribution of £2.5 million from the Home Office in the wake of last summer's public order disturbances in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham. The Arts Council of England supports a wide range of projects targeted at young people of different cultures, helping to develop partnerships between community and mainstream arts organisations. The efficacy of all such NDPB initiatives is assessed through ongoing monitoring and evaluation activity.

Treasury Solicitor's Department Annual Accounts

Lord Orme: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When the Treasury Solicitor's Department annual accounts 2000–01 will be published.

Lord Goldsmith: I can confirm that I have today placed a copy of the annual accounts in the Library.